1925 – John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, TN, was arrested for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. After being found guilty his conviction was later set aside. https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/scopes-trial
1260 – Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire
1430 – Jews are expelled from Speyer, Germany
1494 – Christopher Columbus sighted Jamaica on his second trip to the Western Hemisphere. He named the island Santa Gloria.
1646 – King Charles I surrenders in Scotland
1762 – Russia & Prussia sign Treaty of Saint Petersburg ending the Seven Years’ War
1778 – George Washington appoints Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Inspector General of the Continental Army
1798 – U.S. Secretary of War William McHenry ordered that the USS Constitution be made ready for sea. The frigate was launched on October 21, 1797, but had never been put to sea.
1809 – Citizenship is denied to Jews of Aargau Canton, Switzerland
1809 – Mary Kies was awarded the first patent to go to a woman. It was for technique for weaving straw with silk and thread.
1814 – The British attacked the American forces at Ft. Ontario, Oswego, NY.
1862 – The Battle of Puebla took place. It is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo Day. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/cinco-de-mayo
1865 – The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S.
1891 – Music Hall was dedicated in New York City. It was later renamed Carnegie Hall.
1892 – The U.S. Congress extended the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 more years. The act required Chinese in the U.S. to be registered or face deportation.
1893 – Panic of 1893 causes a large crash on the NY Stock Exchange
1901 – The first Catholic mass for night workers was held at the Church of St. Andrew in New York City.
1912 – Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda began publishing.
1916 – U.S. Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.
1917 – Eugene Jacques Bullard becomes the first African-American aviator when he earned his flying certificate with the French Air Service.
1920 – Italian migrant anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti charged with murder of a paymaster at a US shoe factory in Massachusetts, both are later executed
1925 – John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, TN, was arrested for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. After being found guilty his conviction was later set aside. https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/scopes-trial
1926 – Eisenstein’s film “Battleship Potemkin” was shown in Germany for the first time.
1926 – Sinclair Lewis refused a 1925 Pulitzer for “Arrowsmith.”
1934 – The first Three Stooges film is released, The comedy trio soon became famous, especially in the U.S., for their short films featuring slapstick humor.
1942 – In the U.S., wartime sugar rationing began.
1945 – The Netherlands and Denmark were liberated from Nazi control.
1945 – A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon. A pregnant woman and five children were killed.
1949 – The Council of Europe is founded, The organization was the first to work for European integration. It has 47 member countries and is a completely separate entity from the European Union (EU).
1952 – “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (also known as “Vitameatavegamin”) episode of “I Love Lucy” premieres, garnering 68% of US television viewers
1955 – West Germany regains full sovereignty after World War II. The Federal Republic of Germany had been established in 1949. Its provisional capital was Bonn. After the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany, Berlin was declared the country’s capital.
1961 – Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7, became the first American in space when he made a 15 minute suborbital flight.
1971 – Race riot in Brownsville section of Brooklyn (NYC)
1979 – Voyager 1 fly-bys Jupiter
1980 – The British Special Air Service (SAS) terminate the Iranian Embassy siege in London, Six gunmen had held 26 people hostage for six days, demanding the release of Iranian Arab prisoners. Two of the hostages were killed.
1981 – After 66 days on hunger strike, 26 year old Provisional IRA member and British MP Bobby Sands dies in the Maze Prision. Nine more hunger strikers die in the next 3 months.
1984 – The Itaipu Dam opened on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay.
1987 – The U.S. congressional Iran-Contra hearings opened.
1991 – In New York, Carnegie Hall marked its 100th anniversary.
1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after Salvadoran man is shot by police
2000 – Conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon
2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army
2012 – Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970
2013 – 10 people are killed in a church attack in Njilan, Nigeria
2014 – China announces it will upgrade Ethiopia’s infrastructure in an effort to improve a China-Africa strategic partnership
2014 – The U.S. Supreme court upheld Christian prayers at the start of local council meetings.
2015 – Archaeornithura meemannae, the oldest known prehistoric bird, is discovered
2015 – Scientists announce the discovery of the oldest & most distant galaxy known to man, EGS-zs8-1
2019 – King Vajiralongkorn is crowned King of Thailand, first monarch to be crowned in nearly seven decades during a three-day celebration in Bangkok
2019 – Violent clashes between Israel and Gaza militants over three days have left 4 Israelis and 23 Palestinians dead
2021 – A week of mass protests and demonstrations against government tax reform and poverty in Colombia leaves 24 dead
2021 – Donald Trump’s ban from Facebook upheld by the company’s Oversight Board for a further six months
2021 – The possible eviction of Palestinian families from a Jerusalem neighborhood begins days of unrest in the city, injuring hundreds
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
